[15] Greater Houston has the seventh-highest metropolitan-area gross domestic product in the United States, valued at $490 billion in 2017.

[17] As of 2021, Greater Houston is home to the headquarters of 24 Fortune 500 companies, ranking third among all metropolitan statistical areas.

The metropolitan area is located in the Gulf Coastal Plains biome, and its vegetation is classified as temperate grassland.

Of particular note is the Katy Prairie to the west, the Big Thicket to the northeast, and the Galveston Bay ecosystem to the south.

These sediments consist of a series of sands and clays deposited on decaying organic matter that, over time, transformed into oil and natural gas.

This thick, rich soil also provides a good environment for rice farming in suburban outskirts into which the city of Houston continues to grow near Katy.

Prevailing winds come from the south and southeast during most of the year, which bring heat and moisture from the nearby Gulf of Mexico and Galveston Bay area.

[41] Greater Houston's religious community is predominantly Christian and the second-largest metropolitan area that identifies with the religion in Texas after Dallas–Fort Worth (73%).

In a separate study by the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020, the Catholic Church numbered 1,299,901 for the metropolitan area; by 2020, the second-largest single Christian denomination (Southern Baptists) numbered 800,688; following, non-denominational Protestant churches represented the third-largest Christian cohort at 666,548.

[45] According to the Pew Research Center's 2014 study, non-Christian religions collectively made up 7% of the religious metropolitan population.

[46] In 2006, the Greater Houston metropolitan area ranked first in Texas and third in the U.S. within the category of "Best Places for Business and Careers" by Forbes.

[49] Mining, which in the area is almost entirely oil and gas exploration and production, accounted for 11% of Greater Houston's GAP—down from 21% as recently as 1985.

[53] The area is also one of the leading centers of the energy industry, particularly petroleum processing, and many companies have large operations in this region.

[56] Much of the metro area's success as a petrochemical complex is enabled by its busy man-made Houston Ship Channel.

[57] Because of these economic trades, many residents have moved to the Houston area from other U.S. states, as well as hundreds of countries worldwide.

Unlike most places, where high fuel prices are seen as harmful to the economy, they are generally seen as beneficial for Houston, as many are employed in the energy industry.

Baytown, Pasadena, La Porte, and Texas City have some of the area's largest petroleum/petrochemical plants, though major operations can be found in Houston, Anahuac, Clute, and other communities.

[60] The University of Houston System's annual impact on the Houston-area's economy equates to that of a major corporation: $1.1 billion in new funds attracted annually to the Houston area, $3.13 billion in total economic benefit, and 24,000 local jobs generated.

[61][62] This is in addition to the 12,500 new graduates the UH System produces every year who enter the workforce in Houston and throughout Texas.

[62] Sugar Land is home to the second-largest economic activities and fifth-largest city in the metropolitan area.

The city holds the Imperial Sugar (its namesake), Nalco Champion, and Western Airways headquarters.

Houston has also played host to various high school and college sporting events, including the Big 12 Championship Game and hosted the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four, 2010 NCAA Men's Regional Finals, and 2010 MLS All-Star Game.

Several private institutions of higher learning—ranging from liberal arts colleges to a nationally recognized Tier One research university—are located within the metropolitan area.

[70] Democrats are also stronger in the more liberal Neartown area, which is home to a large artist and LGBT community, and Alief, which houses a sizable Asian American population.

[76] CNN/Money and Money magazine have recognized cities in the Greater Houston area the past three years as part of its "100 Best Places to Live in the United States".

In 2005, Sugar Land, southwest of Houston in northeast Fort Bend County, was ranked 46th in the nation, and one of only three Texas cities among the Top 100.

The roads of Beltway 8 and their freeway core, the Sam Houston Tollway, are the next loop, at a diameter around 83 miles (134 km).

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, or METRO, provides public transportation in the form of buses, trolleys, and lift vans.

Still, the system is traveled by about 61,000 people daily, giving it the second-highest ridership per track mile in the nation.

Prior to the 2004 opening of METRORail, Houston was the largest major city in the United States without a rail transit system.